ENGL2104: Pleasing Le Beau Monde
THE RAPE OF THE LOCK - POPE!> Pastoral Method -> competing with ancient/classical writers ~> epic
=> imitating and restating Horace -> critic and poet as hero
A Symbole of 18th century Eng/Euro culture
-> high society
+> NOTE: Pope's movement away from political (public) sphere (Dryden/Rochester) in writing toward private life -> still signs of political shadow
STYLE: resembles that of Paradise Lost
=> imprtance of memory
*> references to MILTON => elementals = angels
1. invocations and question
2. the speeches before battle
3. epic formulae: 'fairest of mortals" (I, 27)
" She Said" (IV, i)
4, narration of time and motion of sun (II, 19) => PL
5. description of descent of armour (V, 88)
6. anaphora (IV, 1-10) (V, 11-15)
7. allegorical figures - spleen / nature / affection => Milton's sin and death
8. Similes
9. Diction: high, civilised => no lewd forms
10. Hyperbole: the 'sending up' (satirical) notion of societal/private issues
11. Present tense and narration -> sentences begin with 'now'
12. Rhetorical question (V, 4)
13. Supernatural Machinary: sylphs, salamnder etc
-> relate to angels
-> healing ethereal objects -> control fate -> MacBeth?
* HAVING READ MILTON...we are better able to understand POPE -> shows Milton's influence within english.
+ What Distinguishes Pope's (light) mock heroic from Dryden's (harsh)?
1. Diction
2. The poet
3. wit/elegance/delicacy -> zeugma
High Society:
finds - magic/charm/beauty ~> ceremonies
~ cosmetics, coffee, chocolate, cards, dogs etc.
even if, there is vice Pope brings out
value-> some criticism: religion and trivial pursuits - the mixing of the two
~> coffee and idleness
However, BEAUTY redeems all vices within high society.
= Pope does not see the world of appearances as somehting that hides evil and ugliness, but as something that is beautiful and in which he takes delight : similarly Addison.
Labels: english, notes